HAD A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP AFTER A LATE START. WAS UP TILL MIDNIGHT AND WOKE AT 8 AM.
FEELING REFRESHED AND STAYING UPSTAIRS TODAY.
OATMEAL AND STRAWBERRIES ARE ON THE MENU.
TOLD JEN NOT TO TELL ME WHERE THE BERRIES ARE FROM.
JUST BUY THEM AND I'LL EAT THEM!!

HALLOWEEN FLEW BY WITHOUT GRAPHICS. IT WAS JUST A BLUR.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY.

SHAD.....THANKS FOR KEEPING THE THREAD ROLLING!!
HAPPY NOVEMBER TO YOU!!!
I DID HEAR THAT THE STRIKES WERE GOING ON....CABLE NEWS.
THE AGENTS AT THE DESK ALWAYS TAKE THE BRUNT OF EVERYTHING.
HANDLING THE PUBLIC NOWADAYS IS A NIGHTMARE IN ITSELF.
PEOPLE ARE BIOTCHING EVEN WHEN THERE IS NOTHING TO BIOTCH ABOUT!
SOMEHOW SENIORS THING THAT'S THEIR INALIENABLE RIGHT!!!!!!
SORRY YOU RUSHED BACK ONLY TO FIND WORK COMING IN SECOND PLACE VS HORSE RACING!
SURE HOPE SOMEONE WON!!!! MAYBE THE WEEK WILL GET BETTER!!

CEEJAY....IF YOU GET THE WOMAN'S PAY RAISE LET ME KNOW!!
THEN I WILL TRY THAT OVER HERE.
WAIT....I THINK I DID AND THEY LAUGHED
GLAD YOU GOT THE ENERGY THOUGH!!!

Humana had us all locked out of the internet yesterday, had some kind of repairs going on. May still happen off and on today, so I best post now while I can get in.

Sissy goes today for her two week check up to see how the BP is doing. Was still a little high last week, but not as high when in the hospital. Doc has her on BP meds till it is under control. She has lost all but about 8 lbs of her baby weight and her tummy is almost flat again...lil chit. With the preeclampsia, she had gained 30 lbs., mostly water as that is what preeclampsia does to a person. She looked like a bloated toad, bless her heart and so miserable, glad that part is over.

Trick or treators were so cute last night. Only had about 25. Looks like Curtis has an entire bowl full of Snickers, Reeces PB cups, M&Ms plain, peanut and PB and Hershey's cookies n cream bars to eat. Best be hiding them or he will eat them all. May bring them to work for the community candy jar.

Going to try to do this from memory..haha

Shaddie...getting to Mudgee was like racing to the finish line and no one was home. Reminds me of me when I wake up on a Saturday morning and think it is a work day, jump out of bed into the shower, now fully awake, and realize it is not. Total freak out.

MELLIE...finally you yell at them and fly the coop for home. Sometimes that is what gets the rest of the crowd moving, petrified of the rath of MELLIE...haha. Glad you still had power, always worrying about you sista.

CHELLE...hope the work load slows up a bit and you can come up for air. GET YOUR REST, don't want you sick AGAIN, my sista friend.

LAURA...man, you have been one busy chicklet running here and there. Too funny about the Borat person. I didn't see the movie either, but have seen many pix of him to know what you saw was frightening in itself..lol

CEEJAY...thanks for visiting my page on FB, and I think he is the most handsome babe around. Yesterday when I was visiting, he was on his side with his leg sticking out of the wrap, he kicks till his feet are out. Too cute. He just melts my heart. I have been calling him lil monkey...

HAPPY....are you into the retirement mode now...coffee on the veranda? Ha, I know you are probably onto the moving mode now. Remember to breathe slowly, take one day at a time, or in you case one moment at a time. Bunches of hugs for tons of sanity.

Annie - We had more trick-or-treaters than you, but we still have a good bit of candy left. Bf needs to hide it or give it away!!! So Sissy's bp seems under control and little J is almost in a regular bed? Awesome news!

Hellos to Happy & Michelle.

===
Halloween went alright here. Kept the dog in the backyard quite a bit, but he still barked when the kids went over to the neighbor's house - he can see (and hear) them because the neighbor's have a side entrance which is visible from our yard. I wish our neighbors had posted a sign that they were out trick-or-treating so the kids wouldn't even get to their door. But who wants to announce the house is empty??

Didn't do much of anything else - sorted the mail pile, sorted the bags of tomatoes, portioned out the almonds I bought.

Watched DWTS, since I always get sucked into it. Annie - re the Kardashians - I don't know squat about any of them (and don't care), except that the brother is on DWTS and did a good job last night - he and his partner danced a tango to "The Addams Family" theme as Gomez and Morticia. The costumes were fun to see last night.

Tonight might be the movies, but I haven't heard anything yet re the final selection.

Shad
Thanks for starting the new thread. I agree that we need reverse psychology

Annie
Such good news this morning concerning Sissy and baby. Wish my bp was that good.
Yes I'm tired of the Kardashians. being every where--Their brother is on Dancing with the Stars. Actually has proved to be a half way decent dancer.

Mel
I know what you mean about the berries. I love all kinds of berries but they don't stay around long enough. I doubt that I'll get their pay raise. Had to vent to my supervisor. I told my co-worker that I was full of energy and cleaned. I'll get to do more this afternoon cause J is not going to be here. He threatens to write me up for doing their "job". he he My co-worker didn't like it when I told her it was dirty. I should have saved the evidence. She thought that our super gave her a new cleaning list. dah girl I know now you don't read anything.

Laura
You snuck in on me. Sounds like you had a few more trick or treaters than I did. There were several out and about when I got home at 7.30 p.m. I left my light off and there were several houses that didn't have their light on either.

Happy 1st of November. Already. Gee the year is flying by Thanks for coming up with a new theme Shad and setting up the new thread. I think that title will work just fine for us.

Day one of the rest of my life, Day 10 of the countdown to move - the last hurdle out of here. I have created a day by day list of things to do - it helps so that I don't forget something at the last minute when I am out of time. Also keeps me on schedule. Full day ahead of me. I woke up at 6:40 on my own and peeked out the window to see a beautiful pink sunrise. DH made some good coffee today and it's nice and sunshiny outside even if a bit chilly. Gotta find a warm day to wash the car - anyone got any good suggestions for getting the road grime off the windows? I hate dirty windows and windshield washer or Windex just don't do the job.

Annie - Yes, I too am sick of the Kardashians and the mockery of marriage that so called celebrities do today. Actually this whole reality thing has just contributed to the downfall of society. I hear that Jessica Simpson was really upset about her pregnancy in that she wanted to sell exclusive rights to the story to any magazine for the asking price of $500,000 and no one was biting. Apparently no one cares about her boyfriend either who is no Tony Romo. So she appears as a stunt dressed as a mummy - not a flattering picture either. I think we need to give up tv and movies, move to communes and go back to basics again. Just sayin'...

I am glad to hear that Sissy is bouncing back just nicely. I feel for the poor girl - sometimes my ankles swell and the tight skin is so uncomfortable - I can't imagine having to deal with the bloat and the pregnancy and the blood pressure. And I will try not to be too envious of her flat tummy! Funny you should call Jake a little monkey - that's the picture I got in my head - tiny as he is, he looks like he has long limbs and with all that kicking sounds like he will fight his way through things. Remember this when you encourage him to start crawling Thank you for the love and hugs - the roller coaster is heading up the hill again and about to go down at lightning speed - I will remember not to get too frazzled. If you like butterflies you would like my husband's pictures from the live butterfly garden in Chicago. I will have to send you a link to his Webshots page. You might also like my Mom's room here - the one room with wallpaper I refused to change. It's green on the bottom and has a top paper with peach butterflies. My Mom loved the wallpaper. I have a picture of her room for the flyer but you can't really see the wallpaper.

Hi Mel - did you save any strawberries? I'd put them in some vanilla yogurt and granola. Are you guys digging out from the snow storm? As I was saying goodbye and talking to people yesterday of course we were talking about snow up north which naturally transitioned to the storm on the east coast. Let me tell you - people were scared SCARED of a storm like that. I just said you underestimate the hearty lot of the east coast and people up north. Do you need to borrow DH's fleece moose pants? Ok so NOW the secret is out why you don't generally mind those medical alarms - I can see Mel making calls now about "broken" alarms just to drool over hunky alarm repair guy

Shad - I think the new title gives us just enough room to avoid the sugary too cheerful bound to be doomed karma that earlier threads did. Good thinking on the title! So did the government step in and hold off the strikers? Are you back at Mudgee driving everyone here and there? Oops just went back to catch up and I see your post about the races. I'd be thinking the same thing - why did I bother? I see you have been talking to DH about one last visit to the states. Have to find what time of year would be the most comfortable for all. I think you are going to like the new place best of all!

Ceejay - got a good laugh from your remark to your co-worker that you are getting her raise. hahahahahahahah - that will get her all up in arms My "costume" consisted of wild Halloween socks, black pants, white button down shirt, black vest and man's tie with grinning pumpkins on it. Hardly anyone commented on what I wore. I guess if I translate that to "southern" it meant they all thought I looked stupid but in an effort to be polite opted to say nothing. I say who cares One of the new guys was disappointed we didn't get to come in costumes. I said welcome to drab corporate life.

Michelle - hope you didn't wear yourself out with the treats table and that yours raised the most money for the food pantry. What great ideas you guys have at work - makes it fun. When do things finally slow down for you?

Laura - apparently we have cranberry bogs all over by us at the new place. I have not cooked with fresh cranberries again - will have to start checking out the Ocean Spray labels. Thanks for the tip. I have one of those bean type heating pads too. DH discovered it a few weeks ago and really likes it - mostly because he can easily move it from shoulder to neck to back easily and it keeps it's warmth for a long time. Mine also has pouches you can slip your feet into the flannel cover so you can warm the cold tootsies. It takes a while to warm up but works nicely - I think you will like it. Gosh I sure do envy you folks with the extra leftover tomatoes. Make some sauce if they are ripe! I saw a snipped on Yahoo with this Italian cook Fabio - if you have an overripe tomato, soak it in a bowl of water overnight with a "peench" of salt and it will rehydrate and firm back up again. Interesting...

Last day at work was long. I came in at 8 and didn't leave until almost 6. It took a long time to say goodbye to people, many of which didn't know I was leaving. They loved that I was retiring early and out of the gawd awful workplace (except of course the 2 most senior managers who looked at me like I was a welfare bum walking away from work). Most could not believe I'd be moving to one of Santa Claus' suburbs willingly. People are more afraid of cold here than tornadoes and floods But everyone was nice and in the end I just tossed most everything out of my desk (paperwork) into the trash can as my coworker and I agreed it don't matter I think they were expecting me to leave some fun stuff to pillage after I left but sorry ... I took it all with me. Going to need my heater up north and I paid for the electric stapler so it's mine I had to laugh - 2 of my team members who are mega drama queens when I talked to them - it was all about them and the things going on in their lives. At one point I thought - hey, this is MY day. I'm leaving and all you can talk about is you - but then I remembered, this is why I am leaving. The team gave me a gift basket with some nice tea, body butter, cologne and shower gel (not all the same fragrance ) I will however use it all. The nicest thing was a large book on organic gardening. Of course I should have known it came from my partner in crime whom they pretty much saddled with getting my gift. They seemed surprised that she and I shared so much about each other these last few weeks. I thought - well you have shunned the two of us- we certainly know we are at the very bottom of the food chain so what did you expect? And D made me the most gorgeous canvas bag and embroidered my name on it. It's a craft bag for my yarn with lots of pouches and she also made me a pouch with a dozen compartments in which to store my crochet hooks - and she included 2 more hooks to get me started. I was soooooo touched - especially when she told me she stayed up until 2am to finish it. Made me all misty! I feel bad leaving her behind. And that was it. Took my 5 boxes of personal stuff and headed out. Now I need to sift through it and decide if I really need that stuff.

Better get off this computer now. DH took the cat to the vet one last time and to pick up some kitty downers. If he comes back and I am still on the computer, we will get into a stern discussion as there is lots to be done. Have a good Tuesday ladies.

__________________Why torture yourself, when life will do it for you? Be the best you can be today - be mindful with your choices.aa

I simply CANNOT believe it's already November. Before you know it the "S" word and the "C" word will be here.

Yesterday's fundraiser went really well. Our division raised nearly $750 for the food pantry. And my volunteering made me more "visible" (which is usually something I shy - pardon the pun - away from). My natural tendencies would be to hang back, stay in my cube and only talk/joke with my immediate co-workers. But my director has suggested that I need to be more "out there" so that people know who I am and learn what I can do.

My back is really sore from yesterday...so I'm glad I have PT in 1/2 hour. I think it'll just be a stretching session, so hopefully my back will feel much better afterwards.

As for the hours outside of work...those are going to get busier. I submitted my website proposal to my new client, who immediately approved the time and price estimate. Now I'm just waiting for her to decide on exactly what functionality she wants on the website and then we can get started. I hope she doesn't change her mind and try and find someone who would underbid me. I also need to do more minor changes for my pet sitting website client, and then write content for my other client. That combined with the stuff I need to do around the house doesn't leave many hours left in the day. But from a financial standpoint, we really NEED me to do the website work. So there it is...I need more hours in the day and more money in my wallet, but I'm sure that's true for all of us. *sigh*

So today's plan is to go to WalMart on the way home to get insulin for Doppler, then mow the lawn/mulch leaves, and then come inside and do some website work. I'd like to stay on top of laundry and cleaning during the week so that I can devote time on the weekends to website work and getting outside with the dogs while it's still relatively nice out. I also have to drag my butt back to the gym....the plan is to go on Thursday. My problem usually is that when I get home, I'm tired from working...so all I want to do is lay down on the couch and watch TV. The cooler temps and shorter days seem to be putting me in hibernation mode.

*******************

Shad - Glad the strike ended and you got to Mudgee despite all the hassles. Bummer that after all you went through to get there, no one wants to work. Thanks for starting the new thread. If Happy's right, and you're talking to her DH about one LAST visit to the States...I hope you swing by West Bend (near Milwaukee) when you visit her...either that or ask Happy and her DH to invite me up there (hint, hint).

Mel - Bummer that you were up 'till midnight. Good for you for sleeping in and staying in your apartment all day.

Annie - Thanks for the books, magazine and Humana care package! I hope by this time tomorrow baby Jake is in a regular baby bed. I'm so glad to hear that Sam's BP is under control. As for the Kardashian's, one of my gay friends poked fun at the 72 day marriage, and commented how people say that "gay marriage threatens the sanctity of marriage", while some heterosexuals do an excellent job at de-sanctifying it all on their own. I guess since you call Jake "little monkey" the outfit I got him definitely suits him! Of course, I'm sure he can't fit into it yet.

Laura - I hope the movie selection is a good one. If not, will you go to the gym or do a BE workout instead?

Happy - I use Rain-X on my windshield. I don't know if it will remove road grime...but I LOVE how it handles rain and snow. The stuff just runs off, and you hardly have to use the wipers (unless it's pouring). It really improves my vision while driving in weather. BTW, I've heard that Ocean Spray gets a lot, if not all, of its cranberries from Wisconsin. You're last day at work sounds like a real doozy. I'm so glad you're out of that gawd awful place with those gawd awful people. What nice parting gifts though, especially the personalized canvas craft bag!

My Mini Goals:
1) Consume less than 120 grams of carbs, 30 grams of sugar and 1,100 net calories (factoring in exercise) 2) Exercise 6 days per week at least 45 minutes per day
3) Follow the Bariatric surgery eating plan
4) Make the most of each moment

Good day Worldlies. I just wanted to pop in (a rare appearance, I know) and say hello. Hello! Today marked another "do-over" day for me, as most months first days do. But I'm going to, once again, give it a try. My weight is UP and my spirits are down. Time for a change. I'd like to wish you all a wonderful November and kick off the "almost holiday" season with a wave from West Virginia. Our Halloween snow has almost all melted and here's to a NEW MONTH! Cheers!

__________________JavaTurtle

My light bulb moment? A sign that said ....
"I'd do ANYTHING to be thin ........ except diet and exercise"

Hey Ms Turtle, nice to see you around these parts. Yeh, time for a change here too. I'm just not making good food choices, and I'm wondering what will make me want to. My doc put me on a blood pressure medicine a couple weeks ago and I thought that might motivate me to really get going with weight loss so I could get off it in the future...but I haven't changed my behavior yet.

Happy - So your short last day ended up being long. Nice you got to say goodbye, especially to those who didn't know and who were interested. You received some nice parting gifts too! LOL about not leaving all your personal stuff behind behind. Why give it away, especially to the scavengers??!! I guess with the plentiful availability of fresh cranberries in your area, you'll be using them more - enjoy. I just love the color and the tart flavor.

Michelle - It's nice you were able to get "out there" and help with the charity and show your boss you're working on yourself. I'm having a goals discussion this week...ugh, hate that stuff. I'm sorry you have to take on the extra work to make ends meet, but it's great that you have the kind of side work that you can do at home and generally on your own schedule. I'm glad you've got exercise on the calendar. The movie selection just came via e-mail and they chose "Moneyball". I'm not that thrilled about it, so I think I'm going to skip. Unless bf's schedule has changed, I have three exercise options - a BE workout at home, an exercise class, or going to the new gym with him, if he's up for that.

Okay, back to work. The fundraising finale starts in about 90 minutes, so I better get a few things done now because the rest of this afternoon won't be so productive.

JavaTurtle - Great to see you again! I need to make a change too. I need to eat better and move more.

Laura - "Moneyball" is on my list of movies to rent when it comes out. I definitely wouldn't pay full theater price to see it. The next movie I pay full price for will probably be "Breaking Dawn" (the next installment of the Twilight series).

*****************
I had a good PT session, which got rid of a lot of my pain. After sitting at my desk for a few hours though (even with standing/stretching breaks), some of the pain has come back.

I think the long time pain (and its accompanying limitations) has gotten me kind of blue. There have been so many things that I've wanted to do these last few months that I haven't been able to due to back pain. My DH, who has had chronic pain for roughly 25 years, says that I just need to do what I can within my limitations so I don't suffer setbacks. I know, I know...that's what y'all have been telling me too. It's just frustrating. But I've got to get back to moving (the endorphins will help my mood) and eating right...because eating poorly just makes me gain more weight which is harder on my back. Vicious cycle that I've just got to break.

No matter how much I feel like hibernating...I've just got to keep my eye on the prize...that hopefully by next summer I'll be thinner and stronger so I can do some of the fun stuff I really enjoy.

Anyway, enough pity party....almost time to leave, run errands and then mulch the leaves at home.

My Mini Goals:
1) Consume less than 120 grams of carbs, 30 grams of sugar and 1,100 net calories (factoring in exercise) 2) Exercise 6 days per week at least 45 minutes per day
3) Follow the Bariatric surgery eating plan
4) Make the most of each moment

Think I'm going to post now as I have a busy morning ahead. I did get some things done and others were a fruitless waste of time that had to be pushed to another day. I waited an hour and a half to speak to someone about settling my affairs with the retirement, only to find after being switched around that I have to wait one more week because of the cooling off period for the papers I signed Then went to pick up my dental records. DH went last week, asked for them, paid the fee and was told they would be ready yesterday. I went to get them today - NOT done. The person who came out to talk to me I have caught lying in the past. She said she sent paperwork to the insurance company when she did not. She told me to have a seat and she would get them ready. I told her that DH was in last week and they should have been ready. She said "well he probably talked to X and she has been out the last few days" We were already tired and hungry so I said I'd pick them up tomorrow. We'll see if they are ready.

We got some sad news today. DH took our cat to the vet - she has been continuously losing weight even tho she gets lots of food - sometimes we open up to 5 cans a day to appease her - she has always been a nibbler though some days she scarfs the can down in 2 hours. She has gone from 9 pounds to 6 and a half pounds in under 2 years. She is the type that has somewhat loose skin so she doesn't look as skinny as she really is but if you pet her, you can feel all the sharp bones. Vet said she is in the beginnings of kidney failure and her numbers don't look good. She said she might not even be able to tolerate the mild tranquilizer we were going to give her for the long journey. It looks like we are going to have to make the difficult decision to put her down. The vet said to think about it for a few days but she thinks it might be the right thing to do as the cat will only get worse and would then go into kidney failure and need a transplant which I don't see happening. DH and I cried all day on and off. We don't know how old Boo actually is since she showed up in our yard abandoned by someone and we took her in 7 years ago. We thought she was about 1 or 2 when we got her since she is a small cat but the vet said by looking at her teeth and tatar buildup she was older than that. Anyway it really cast a pall on the day.

Java - I echo everyone's sentiments about nice to see you pop in. I think you can't dwell on what you didn't do last month, look at things as a fresh start as you did and attempt to do one thing right each day and go from there. Come back as often as you can.

Laura - holy cow - are you doing 2 weeks of fundraisers? Many charities or just one big one? Seems like you've had stuff going on for a while. As for the food - I have always found this time of year to be challenging as it gets colder and darker. Not so satisfying to have the light and healthy foods of summer when warm and comfort sounds so much better. Perhaps you can make some nice vegetable soups or make ahead, warm up at dinner or lunch time meals so you avoid the temptations. And avoid trigger foods like those darn bite size Snickers bars - stuff of the devil

Michelle - wow - you did GREAT for the food pantry. Bravo Yes, I have heard that it's good to get your face out in the crowd. They told me this when I was coerced into joining the Activities Committee. Then I wondered if "getting your face out" meant waiting on people and blowing entire days on events because the others only donated an hour or two of their time and then someone else (me and my cohort) generally were left to tie up loose ends. And in 2 years of getting my face out - it certainly didn't help me get another job so poo on their advice *** raspberries *** I think getting your face out does better when you volunteer to make presentations in front of the senior guys.

I'm sorry that your pain is getting you down. I understand how that can happen - especially when you keep hitting bumps in the road. I would offer that perhaps you need to change your mindset because you might not ever be able to go back (completely) to what you did before. Kind of like when one goes on thyroid meds - you always hope it will make you feel like your old self, but you never get to that point again. Instead accept that this is a new path for you. That might mean ball zumba and water walking instead of intense aerobics. And with your busy schedule right now, it might mean 3 times a week instead of 5. Sometimes it might mean on a busy day that you work in 2, ten minute walks to the farthest ladies room if you can't exercise that night. Always do something a little bit more than nothing. I also understand that time demands are getting to you - work is very busy and as you said, the extra web income is most handy. Stressing undoes everything good you try to do so balance what you can and end the day feeling that you made the right (maybe not the perfect) choices at the end of the day. Sometimes when I felt overwhelmed, I'd go back to the mantra of savings - find one thing you like and look for a way to do it less costly - so my friend, find one thing you'd like to do (exercise) and look for a way to work it in - they can't fire you for taking a bit longer to go to the farthest ladies room on your floor (unless of course it's the ONLY one) and you'd be surprised how the steps add up for 10 minutes extra effort. Just don't get down about, ok? You are quite the busy woman and it shows no signs of letting up.

I just realized I have to go through the refrigerator for trash day tomorrow so I'd better sign off. Have a good night...

__________________Why torture yourself, when life will do it for you? Be the best you can be today - be mindful with your choices.aa